AFL insider Caroline Wilson has passionately defended her reporting of Hawthorn's coaching succession program amid an explosive backlash from Sam Mitchell and warned the erstwhile Hawks prima to beryllium "very careful".
Hawthorn announced earlier this period that Mitchell would instrumentality the reins arsenic caput manager astatine the extremity of adjacent play nether the club's highly-publicised succession plan.
However, earlier this week Wilson claimed that determination was a gathering astatine Hawks HQ with Mitchell, outgoing manager Alastair Clarkson, Leading Teams brag Ray McLean, Hawthorn footy brag Rob McCartney and different elder nine members, and aft this gathering Wilson said those successful the country near with the feeling that Mitchell wanted the apical occupation successful 2022 and for Clarkson to depart aft this season.
"Absolutely not. That has not happened," Mitchell told SEN vigor connected Wednesday, refuting Wilson.
"We've been moving connected immoderate signifier of succession program for specified a agelong play of time, if you'll bash maine the privilege, I'll explicate however agelong agone this started and however it's inactive each connected track. There's inactive plentifulness to enactment retired of course.
"Everyone talks astir that gathering similar it was a one-off oregon the lone clip we've ever met. I heard immoderate of the media reports talking astir it and it's like, if you're successful an organisation similar Hawthorn, you are going to person each of these discussions each of the clip and if you each hold connected everything, past what's the constituent having truthful galore radical doing it?
"You person to person radical with differing views each of the time. Part of what happened connected that peculiar gathering … we caught up, everyone knew we were doing it, and astatine the extremity of that gathering we did not person each answer, which would beryllium plain for anyone to spot that if you're moving done thing this big, it's a continual enactment successful progress.
"Everything we are moving towards is Clarko coaching adjacent twelvemonth and maine maintaining the relation which I emotion moving with these young fellas and watching them advancement and present a heap of them are getting games astatine the infinitesimal and I'm perfectly loving that."
Clarkson and Mitchell successful 'mediation session'
Later that evening though connected Footy Classified, Wilson deed backmost astatine Mitchell's response, lasting by her reporting.
"I'm wholly assured of my sources," she said.
"Why connected world would I marque thing up? Why would I enactment my estimation connected the enactment knowing that radical astatine this gathering were going to travel retired and person their say?
"It is perfectly imaginable that Sam did not say, 'I privation to manager adjacent twelvemonth and I privation you gone' - I ne'er reported that.
"What I did accidental was that radical near that gathering with the content that Sam Mitchell would alternatively beryllium the elder manager adjacent twelvemonth and I'm sorry, but it is not Sam's 100 per cent tendency to manager successful tandem with Alastair Clarkson adjacent year.
Wilson defends Hawks succession report
"It mightiness beryllium contiguous aft meetings person been held since that gathering and I mightiness adhd that immoderate of those meetings person been held without Alastair Clarkson present, which would not usually happen.
"It is conscionable patently not existent for Sam to accidental determination are not leaks coming retired of Hawthorn. I've ne'er seen Hawthorn leak similar this.
"And Sam should beryllium precise cautious astir what helium says astir his premiership manager arsenic I'm proceeding backmost that he's been saying to radical astatine that shot club, that helium should conscionable beryllium careful."
Former AFL manager Ross Lyon said the deficiency of enactment astir Mitchell's claims connected the taxable was "deafening", suggesting Wilson's reporting was correct.
"It's unedifying and if determination was superior pushback, I deliberation some Sam and Alastair would person done thing unneurotic today," Lyon said.
"There was lone 1 enactment successful that gathering that has spoken astir Caroline not saying the truth. It's deafening connected the different side, the silence.
"I truly consciousness for Alastair. When helium signed the four-year deal, determination was nary notation of a succession plan.
"It's been thrust connected him successful a abbreviated play of clip and the respect to accidental we had a 20-minute gathering to program it retired says it each astir this statement and I cannot fathom what Alastair has been enactment through."
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